


To Start Again

by AvadaGreenEyes



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen, Post-Episode: s02e03 The Reichenbach Fall, Post-Reichenbach, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-03 20:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14577243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvadaGreenEyes/pseuds/AvadaGreenEyes
Summary: Three months after The Fall, John is picking up the pieces and set to do his best, for Sherlock.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers!
> 
> This is honestly the first time in a long time I have posted something, let alone the first time for a Sherlock fic. I have watched and re-watched Sherlock multiple times, and have seen the Downey films, though I have not, admittedly ever read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 
> 
> The idea for this fic came to me suddenly and I typed out as much as I could. I hope to turn this into a multi-chapter fic, but we'll see where the wind takes me, yeah? 
> 
> Please comment for any reason, and I promise I'll try to reply to every single one. This is not beta'd or brit picked. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!

John doesn’t move out of 221b. 

  
It takes a bit for him to recover, but recover he does. Three months after that day, John starts cleaning. 

  
He works a 9-5 at the surgery most days, only taking off holidays and a handful of sick days. He helps Greg by acting as a sounding board on occasion, but largely stays away from his previous life of “crime solving.”   


  
He saves up though. He doesn’t have to pay rent, as Mycroft has (graciously) taken care of it, so he saves up for the things he meant to do for Sherlock before that day.    


  
The first thing he does is buy six filing cabinets. They each sit six drawers high, and stand behind the couch against the far wall, three in either corner.    


  
Meticulously, he files and labels, putting away every bit of case work he finds alphabetically and by year. He also files by crime.    


  
This self-appointed task takes a month and a half - shorter than he thought it would. Task completed, he spends two weeks relaxing  outside of work. He has tea with Mrs. Hudson, visits Greg for lunch, and bothers Mycroft every so often.    


  
He allows himself to heal a little more, and decides on his next task - the kitchen   


  
He enlists Mycroft’s help, and with Mrs. Hudson’s permission, turns 221c into a lab. It’s not one the current occupants will ever use, but it makes them both feel better, and gives John a place to store Sherlock’s experiments, notes, and chemicals. The finishing touch is a plaque that reads ‘For Sherlock’ in scrawling font.    


  
This task took three months to accomplish, but most of that was construction and decorating.    


  
Now, eight months after The Fall, John wishes to speak to the public, and clear his best friends name.    


  
It takes a bit of time, but John is satisfied with the details, and has a support system with him. Mycroft and Anthea, Mummy and Daddy Holmes, Molly, Greg, and Mike.    


  
“My name is John Watson, and I was an Army Doctor. I served in Afghanistan as a member of the 5th Northumberland Fusiliers. I was shot and medevaced home. For a long time, I contemplated suicide.   


  
“Three months later I met Sherlock Holmes through a mutual friend. We met the first time in one of St. Bart’s labs, and he was working on an experiment. I was amazed by all the thing he correctly deduced about me in 20 seconds of acquaintance. I moved in with him the next day.    


  
“In all the time I had known him, he was my best mate, and sharp like a whip. A bit of a rude disposition, but to me it was an endearing quality. He played violin at 3am, and never slept on a case. He brought justice to a great many people, and helped saved a lot of lives. We even stopped a terrorist attack once.    


  
“What I came here to tell you though, was not all this. I came here to tell you that Sherlock Holmes was not a fraud, and certainly not a criminal.    


  
“For those of you who read my blog, you’ll know A Study In Pink had a cabbie murderer. When asked who put him up to it, the cabbie admitted that a man named James Moriarty was behind his newfound hobby.  For countless cases after that, each criminal confessed that a man named Moriarty was funding them. Everywhere we went, James Moriarty plagued us. He even tried to assassinate us, once.    


  
“It culminated in the elaborate back and forth dance you all witnessed eight months ago, and ended in a great man, my best friend, killing himself to escape it all.    


  
“He deserved better, and you all deserve the truth. I have told everything I know to the police, and just about all the safe information will be released for further review sometime this month.    


  
“Thank you.”   


  
Stoically, John walked away from the podium, following Anthea off the stage.    


  
It was time to go home.

\------------------------------

Immediately following the press conference, John went home to 221b and curled up in Sherlock’s chair, his blue silk robe wrapped around his body and, for the first time in a long time, wept.    
  



	2. The Next Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much what the title says: this is the next few days following the press conference that ended Chapter 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone! I know its only been like, two days since I posted the last chapter, but I do believe I said I'd be posting these as soon as I finish them. In fact, I finished this chapter and started the next about 20 minutes ago. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's a bit...boring, admittedly, but I promise the next one will be more exciting!
> 
> Like the last chapter, this work remains un-beta'd and hasn't been brit picked.

John spends the next few days avoiding both the telly and radio. To escape the quiet of the flat he plays the Bach and Mozart records he bought ages ago but never listened to because Sherlock would always play them.

 

Eventually, he grows bored of trying to read the same paragraph in the single spy novel found in the flat, so he goes back to cleaning. Today, he will tackle the living room. 

 

He starts by moving the desk and chairs flush against the couch so he can get to the bookcases. They had been a disorganized mess since before he had moved in, and he had been meaning to fix them since then too. 

 

_ ‘Well,’  _ John thinks,  _ ‘No time like the present.’ _

 

Most of the books turn out to be Sherlock’s, which is no surprise, really. To keep it sort of organized, he places each book he takes of the shelves in stacks on the floor, a stack per subject. Once he manages to get all of their books onto the floor and out of the way, he sets about dusting them. 

 

During this time, he realizes he doesn’t want to finish this task in an afternoon or two, and that he  _ really _ wants to make the bookcases look nicer. Mind made up, he grabs the flat keys and his wallet, jogging down the stairs. 

 

**——————-**

 

30 minutes later sees John return to the flat with a tarp, paint brushes and wood stain, as well as basic tools. He spends the rest of the night and well into the next morning fixing and re-staining the four bookcases in the flat. 

 

Mrs. Hudson finds him fast asleep on the floor at 10am. Smiling, she goes and grabs a blanket and pillow for him, letting him sleep for as long as possible.  _ ‘He deserves some peaceful, uninterrupted sleep for once,’  _ she thought. 

 

**———————-**

 

John wakes up on the couch around 5 that evening to find the bookcases dry and back into the spots on either side of the fireplace. Confused, he went downstairs to visit Mrs. Hudson. 

 

“Mrs. H! Do you know what happened with the bookcases?” John shouted as he jogged down the stairs. 

 

“Oh! John dear, do come in and share a cuppa with me. It feels like ages since we last had a chat.” Mrs. Hudson lets him in and starts the kettle. As it turns out, she  _ did _ know what happened. 

 

“Well, around noon that Inspector friend of yours - Lestrade, was it? - came ‘round with that scruffy man - Anderson I think it was - to ask for your help with something. I thought you might be up by then, so I lead them up the stairs and offered to make them a cuppa. Turns out you were still sleeping - on the floor I might add - so they moved you to the couch.” A little embarrassed, John runs his hand over the back of his neck sheepishly. 

 

“Pick up the bookcases too, did they?” Turning away from the kettle, Mrs. Hudson readies to mugs for their tea, as well as setting up a plate of biscuits.

 

“Yes, they did at that. Such lovely men. They did want me to pass on a message. Now let’s see if I remember it.” As Mrs. Hudson potters around the kitchen, John softly smiles. For a long time now, Mrs. H had been like a mother to him. She was such a sweet lady, but she was also rather fierce and protective of them.  _ ‘And,’  _ he suspected,  _ ‘She always would be.’ _

 

“Oh! That’s what it was. They got a new case, you see, and they wondered if you could consult on it in your capacity as a surgeon.” John accepted the cup of tea, briefly dipping a biscuit in it before raising it to his lips. He raised his eyebrow at Mrs. Hudson but nods nonetheless, telling her he got the message. 

 

**______________**

 

They spend the next four hours talking and watching crap telly, happy that the other is there with them.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, at least a little bit. I hope to have the next chapter up within the next week, but its getting closer to my final high school exams, so I need to study as well. 
> 
> Please comment, subscribe, kudo, etc if you like. 
> 
> Until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Again, thank you for reading!!
> 
> If you have any questions or want to comment for any reason, please do so and I will try to respond. I am currently about a month out from my high school graduation, so I will try to write for this whenever I can, but I will also be preparing for college soon and will be trying to navigate that. 
> 
> Anyway, please comment, kudo, subscribe, or do what you like!


End file.
